ArticleDigital health
The utility of wearable fitness trackers and implications for increased engagement: An exploratory, mixed methods observational study.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inequalities in Exclusively Mobile Interventions Targeting Weight-Related Behaviors: Systematic Review of Observational Studies.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Smart wearable devices as a psychological intervention for healthy lifestyle and quality of life: a randomized controlled trial.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2021Trial
- Textile suit for anywhere full-body motion capture.Science advances · 2026Article
- Population differences in wearable device wear time: Rescuing data to address biases and advance health equity.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Feasibility of mHealth Strategies to Promote Use of Wrist-Worn Alcohol Biosensors Among Young Adults With HIV: Protocol for the Engage Microrandomized Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Technical Functions of Digital Wearable Products (DWPs) in the Consumer Acceptance Model: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis with a Biomimetic Perspective.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Changing User Experience of Wearable Activity Monitors Over 7 Years: Repeat Cross-Sectional Survey Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Understanding Physical Activity Determinants in an HIV Self-Management Intervention: Qualitative Analysis Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Assessment of Noninvasive Oxygen Saturation in Patients With COPD During Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Smartwatch versus Pulse Oximeter.Respiratory care · 2023Article
- Using wearable activity trackers for research in the global south: Lessons learned from adolescent psychotherapy research in Kenya.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
- Supporting Behavior Change in Sedentary Adults via Real-time Multidimensional Physical Activity Feedback: Mixed Methods Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Acceptance of Digital Sports: A Study Showing the Rising Acceptance of Digital Health Activities Due to the SARS-CoV-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Heart rate detection by Fitbit ChargeHRJournal of sleep research · 2021Article
- Predictors and Outcomes of Digital Weighing and Activity Tracking Lapses Among Young Adults During Weight Gain Prevention.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2021Article
- Analysis of the Behavioral Change and Utility Features of Electronic Activity Monitors.Technologies · 2020Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore which features of wearable fitness trackers are used and deemed helpful.
methodsForty-seven participants took part in an online survey. All participants were over 18 years of age and owned a wearable device that objectively measured physical activity and provided feedback. The survey included questions related to the acceptance of different features of wearables, and exercise information, self-efficacy, exercise identity, motivation, and general demographics of the wearer. Seven participants took part in focus groups in an effort to gain further insight into the acceptability and utilization of wearables. Data were examined using means and frequencies.
resultsParticipants were mostly young adults (18-24 years, 48.9%), White (63.8%), female (80.9%), overweight (body mass index 26.0±6.2), students (42.6%) and generally healthy. Fitbit was the most commonly owned wearable device (42.6%). Most participants had owned their device for 6-12 months (27.7%) and they wore their device daily (80.9%). The most commonly used features were rewards/badges (59.6%), notifications (52.2%), and challenges (42.6%). The features that were reportedly the most helpful, however, were motivational cues (83.3%), general health information (82.4%), and challenges (75.0%).
conclusionsThe reported use and helpfulness ratings of various features of wearables appeared to vary based on the wearer's gender, race/ethnicity, exercise goal, exercise proficiency, preferred type of exercise, and psychosocial metrics but the results are inconclusive. Future research should evaluate whether engagement with certain features is strongly associated with improved outcomes and whether the use of these features is significantly associated with wearer characteristics.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.